The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority published its 2024 Consumer Trends Report on consumers’ experiences with insurance and pension products, focusing on digitalisation, artificial intelligence, demand for supplementary pensions and value for money. The report points to a widening pensions gap alongside low participation in supplementary pensions, highlights uneven consumer outcomes from digital channels, and flags continuing value for money concerns in parts of the insurance-based investment market. EIOPA’s Eurobarometer survey found that only 42% of EU consumers are confident they will have enough money to live comfortably throughout retirement. Participation in supplementary pensions remains limited, with 20% of consumers members of an occupational pension scheme and 18% owning a personal pension product, citing lack of financial resources, high costs and perceived product complexity. Digital tools are increasingly used to compare offers, speed up claims processes and project pension entitlements, but risks include digital exclusion, misinformation and insufficient access to advice for some consumers. On AI, around half of EU consumers and reporting national competent authorities indicated automated tools have made claims processing faster and easier to navigate; AI-driven pricing may reduce costs and improve insurability, but reported drawbacks include limited consideration of individual circumstances and excessive standardisation, alongside privacy, security and ethical issues. Value for money risks persist, particularly for certain unit-linked and hybrid insurance products, where supervisors have acted in response to high commissions, complexity and, at times, poor performance; a quarter of Europeans believe insurance-based investment products do not offer value for money. The report also notes slightly reduced access to investment and non-life insurance products from 2023 to 2024, increased interest in products with sustainability features (16% in 2024 versus 13% in 2023) alongside greenwashing risks, and moderately rising cross-border insurance sales driven by digitalisation amid trust and supervisory challenges.
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority 2025-01-15
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority report finds low supplementary pension uptake and persistent value for money risks amid growing digitalisation and AI use
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority's 2024 Consumer Trends Report highlights widening pensions gaps and low participation in supplementary pensions, with only 42% of EU consumers confident in their retirement finances. The report underscores uneven consumer outcomes from digital channels and ongoing value for money concerns in insurance-based investments, particularly unit-linked and hybrid products. It also notes increased interest in sustainable products and rising cross-border insurance sales, amid challenges like greenwashing and digital exclusion.